Black Warrior River 7th most at risk

Proposed mine jeopardizes river, annual report says

Students from the University of Alabama Environmental Council and the UA chapter of the NAACP protest against the proposed Shepherd Bend mine on the Black Warrior River at the Promenade near the Ferguson Center Oct. 25, 2011.

Michelle Lepianka Carter | Tuscaloosa News

By Stephanie TaylorStaff Writer

Published: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 11:29 p.m.

A proposed mining operation on the banks of the Black Warrior has landed the river a spot on America’s Most Endangered Rivers list.

Students from the University of Alabama Environmental Council and the UA chapter of the NAACP protest against the proposed Shepherd Bend mine on the Black Warrior River at the Promenade near the Ferguson Center Oct. 25, 2011.

Michelle Lepianka Carter | Tuscaloosa News

American Rivers, a Washington D.C.-based conservation group, ranked the Black Warrior seventh on its annual list, according to a report released today.

“The report highlights 10 rivers whose fates will be decided in the coming year and encourages decision-makers to do the right thing for the rivers and the communities they support,” according to a news release that accompanied the report.

“The report is not a list of the nation’s ‘worst’ or most polluted rivers, but rather it highlights rivers confronted by critical decisions that will determine their future.”

Shepherd Bend Mine LLC, owned by Drummond Co., has proposed a 1,773-acre coal mine near Mulberry Fork, a tributary that serves as an intake for Birmingham’s drinking water supply. The company has control of just 34 acres, and would require an agreement with the UA System board of trustees for land and mineral rights to move forward. Drummond Co. is owned by former UA trustee Garry Drummond. A UA spokeswoman said Tuesday that the university has no plans to sell or lease the land.

“The university has not been approached about leasing or selling the land, and has no current plans to sell or lease the land,” Cathy Andreen said.

Mining the area could contaminate the drinking water source for nearly 200,000 people and negatively impact wildlife and recreation opportunities, said Charles Scribner, executive director of the Black Warrior Riverkeeper organization that applied for the endangered designation.

The Black Warrior Riverkeeper has been joined by several organizations, individuals and governmental bodies that have urged UA to publicly state that no mining will ever occur at the site.

Scribner said the endangered designation could help pressure university officials.

“The University of Alabama understandably cares about PR because they’re a major research and educational institution,” he said. “They’re an increasingly national institution. They’ve grown a lot in the last few years and they get incredible students, faculty and staff from all over the country. In order to do so, they need a good image. By being under this national spotlight now, I hope there is more pressure on them to continue to protect their good image by not participating in the transfer of land and minerals for a uniquely inappropriate mine proposal right across from a major drinking water supply for Alabama’s largest city.”

Around 200,000 Birmingham area residents drink water from the Mulberry Fork area. While Tuscaloosa County doesn’t use the Black Warrior for drinking water, the area could be impacted by pollution, Scribner said. A mine in such proximity would introduce sediment and toxic pollutants to the drinking water supply, leading to increased customer costs and decreased water quality, according to the American Rivers report.

“We have a thriving river with a lot of biodiversity, great recreation opportunities and great scenery. We want to keep it that way,” he said. “There’s a lot to lose here.”

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Alabama Surface Mining Commission have granted Jasper-based Shepherd Bend permission to mine 286 acres owned by UA near the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River. It’s common for mining companies to apply for permits before acquiring land.

The proposed mine has drawn official opposition from the Birmingham City Council, Birmingham Water Works Board, the NAACP, UA’s and the University of Montevallo’s student government associations, the UAB graduate student association, the Waterkeeper Alliance, the Southern Environmental Law Center, a task force of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama, Birmingham-based craft beer breweries and various environmental and recreation groups.

The mine site is part of 1,300 acres UA owns off Mulberry Fork, a Black Warrior tributary in Walker County. It would be 800 feet from the Mulberry Fork intake, which supplies raw water to water filtration plants, according to the Birmingham Water Works board.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management issued a permit to allow Shepherd Bend LLC to discharge wastewater from its strip mine at more than two dozen points into Mulberry Fork in July 2008. Opponents say the wastewater would contain iron, aluminum, manganese, chlorides, sulfates and other contaminants.

“Even if they never had a single violation, they would still discharge wastewater containing 10 times the level of iron and 40 times the level of manganese recommended by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act,” Scribner said.

In early 2012, the Birmingham City Council passed a resolution asking UA not to lease the land.

Citizens and groups have held several protests, including one outside a UA trustees meeting at UAB in February 2012. Members of the group delivered a petition to the trustees that included more than 6,000 signatures of people who oppose strip mining at the site.

UA Systems spokeswoman Kellee Reinhart said the board of trustees has not discussed the issue.

UA had sought bids on leasing the land in 2007 at the request of the Drummond Co. But the company then didn’t respond to the request for proposals, and neither Drummond nor any of its subsidiaries have requested a lease since.

Scribner said the organization has good relationships with UA students, faculty and staff, and that they often work together on different projects. He was in Tuscaloosa Tuesday night to accept a grant from the Alabama Panhellenic Association. The money will be used to fund lab analysis of water samples used in pollution investigations in the 17-county watershed.

“We don’t look at the University of Alabama as an adversary,” Scribner said. “They haven’t made any bad decisions. We’re just trying to pressure them to make the right decision. It would be wonderful to focus on continuing these partnerships and just say, ‘Let’s end this and move on.’ ”

He encouraged anyone interested in the mining project to visit www.blackwarriorriver.org.

A voice mail left at a number for Drummond’s media relations and an email submitted through the company website were not returned Tuesday.

Some citizens and a group called JobKeeper Alliance have spoken in favor of the mine. The JobKeeper Alliance board includes representatives from Untied Mine Workers, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations and Manufacture Alabama. The alliance has stated that mining should be allowed if the company has been granted the proper permits and adheres to regulations. Supporters have said that sediment ponds would allow pollutants to settle before water is released into the river, and that the mine would create new jobs and tax revenue.

The Colorado River was named the nation’s top endangered river. Ongoing drought and increasing demand for water has threatened the waterway that flows through seven U.S. and two Mexican states.

Reach Stephanie Taylor at

stephanie.taylor@tuscaloosa

news.com or 205-722-0210.

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